Canadian National Railway Company and Ray-Mont Logistics reported its first unit train bringing agricultural products to Ray-Mont's new transload facility has arrived in Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

According to company officials, the first unit train transported canola meal pellets from Western Canada on CN's line. The new facility is currently the only unit train stuffing facility on Canada's west coast, helping crops transported by CN from Western and Central Canada as well as the American Midwest reach international markets.

"We recognize the importance of making Canadian grain competitive on the global market," said Doug MacDonald, CN Vice President of Bulk. "As such we are pleased to play a role in innovative supply chain partnerships such as this one that will benefit the grain industry."

The 10-acre facility includes a 100-car rail loop corridor, a grain dumper pit, as well as a state-of-the-art conveyance system and will transload grain and processed grain products from CN hoppers to ocean liner containers for export. The facility handles agricultural products transported from the US and Canada in order to meet the increasing demand for containerized grain in international markets.

Located on Ridley Island, adjacent to the newly expanded Port of Prince Rupert Fairview Container Terminal and connected to CN's extensive network, Ray-Mont Logistics offers a supply chain solution that will change the containerized agricultural product market in Western Canada and offer unparalleled opportunity for agricultural commodity exporters.

"Efficient logistics and innovative transloading go hand in hand and are future-oriented," said Charles Raymond, President & CEO of Ray-Mont Logistics International. "With top class partners like CN, this project will allow our customers, with current and emerging markets, to grow their exports exponentially, and we are proud to be an active participant."

CN’s team of approximately 23,000 railroaders transports more than C$250 billion worth of goods annually for a wide range of business sectors, ranging from resource products to manufactured products to consumer goods, across a rail network of approximately 20,000 route-miles spanning Canada and mid-America.